5 Skincare Ingredients to Avoid

Do you pay attention to the ingredients in your skincare or take the time to read the label before purchasing a product? You might think that if it’s available at your favorite beauty supply store or drugstore, then it should be completely safe to use. Think again. Many widely available skincare products contain ingredients that can be irritating on your skin, if not downright harmful. Here are a few you may want to avoid:

Parabens

Parabens are preservative ingredients that prevent mold, fungus and bacteria from growing in your skincare products. They are widely used in personal care products and can be found in everything from shampoos and soaps to moisturizers and lotions. However, for the past few years, scientists and manufacturers have been debating about whether parabens may be harmful to our health.

Some studies show that parabens can be linked to cancer, while others conclude that there is not enough information to establish a link. Still, many consumers think that it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you are using products that contain parabens and want to err on the side of caution, you may want to consider switching to natural beauty products such as those by Well Within Beauty.

Well Within Beauty offers plant based cosmetics and organic skincare products that don’t contain any parabens. They are made from nature’s finest ingredients and promise to be gentle, nourishing, and above all, safe for your skin.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or SLS is an inexpensive and widely used surfactant found in many products such as shampoos, soaps and facial cleansers. It acts as a detergent, and is the chemical that allows your personal care products to produce lather.

The problem with SLS is that it can be very irritating on your skin, and can cause a host of problems from dandruff to dermatitis and rashes. It can also be very stripping, and can cause your skin to lose its natural moisture and oils that keep it protected against the elements.

Alcohol

Alcohol can be very drying and leave your skin feeling stripped and “squeaky clean.” People with oily skin may enjoy this clean feeling, but the truth is that alcohol can increase greasiness by forcing your skin to produce more sebum to make up for the oil that was just stripped clean.

Bear in mind that there are good alcohols and bad alcohols. The alcohols to avoid in skincare products include SD alcohol, denatured alcohol and isopropyl alcohol, while fatty alcohols such as cetyl, stearyl and cetearyl are fine to use and may even be beneficial for your skin.

Fragrance

Fragrance is usually added to a product to mask strong chemical scents or to simply give it a more pleasant scent. This doesn’t sound so bad, but the problem is that “fragrance” is a very vague term and does not specify what specific ingredients make up a certain fragrance. Fragrance can cause irritation and rashes, and many individuals are sensitive to it. If you have sensitive or reactive skin, it’s best to avoid products that have fragrance as one of the first ten ingredients.

Microbeads

Microbeads are tiny, spherical plastic beads commonly found in body scrubs and facial scrubs. They are responsible for giving your skin that refreshed, “squeaky clean” feeling. However, they have been found to be disastrous to the environment, and have already been banned in many countries.

Instead of microbeads, switch to products that contain natural exfoliants such as oats, sugar or strawberry seeds.

At the end of the day, it pays to pay attention to what you put on your skin. Your shampoo or moisturizer might be what’s causing your rashes or breakouts without you even knowing it. Do your research and avoid products with ingredients that are known to cause irritations or that are harmful to the environment.